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astrid

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  1. astrid

    Italy

    astrid replied to susan's topic in The Intrepid Traveler

    I am happy to praise Sapori Solari in Milan as the Etxebarri of cured meats. I don't say this lightly. This going to one of the defining dining experiences in my life. (along with the burrata + truffles at Il Vicini Bistrot in Rome).
  2. astrid
    We found GROM to be significantly less good than other top tier Florence Gelateria. Overall, pretty happy with what TripAdvisor dug up for us.
  3. astrid
    Or maybe we're just eating too early at non-touristy restaurants. We were eating alone at a very nice little restaurant last night at 7:30, and was told that they never get customers before 8:30.
  4. astrid
    Kinship or Marcel's would be my pick for such an occasion. Both have low key but lovely dining rooms that feels romantic. Marcel's might verge on stuffy for some, but I was delighted by the old school intimacy and the excellent cooking. Kinship skews younger and more modern.
  5. astrid
    Restaurants in Rome seem pretty quiet right now. Is it because it's Lent? We could have walked into all of our meals this week, all at very highly rated by TripAdvisor places. The late February weather has been very pleasant too (perfect for traveling with a light jacket), so I am counting my blessings. The Colosseum an the Vatican were crowded, but the crowds were small elsewhere.
  6. astrid
    I have been reasonably happy with the ANOVA cooker recommended by Serious Eats. If you wait around a bit, a discounted price offer will come along. It's easy and intuitive to use. The results that I got so far hasn't been mind blowing, but pleasant enough. Kenji of Serious Eats recommend it for other applications such as tempering chocolate, which sounds like a very good idea indeed.
  7. astrid
    Hannibal, Rick and Morty, Fargo, and The Americans are my top recs right now. Truly this is the golden age of television.
  8. astrid
    They taste pretty good in salads. Nutty and mild. Good with nuts, cheeses, and acidic fruits. I let a few plants go to seed each year and they keep me in salads from November to April. They can be a hassle to clean, however.
  9. astrid
    If anyone living near Dupont Circle is in the mood of Japanese food tonight.
  10. astrid
    But wait...there's more! But for the fear of Metro closing before 11 PM (because...METRO), I would be all over this deal. I hope some folks living within walking distance can take advantage of this great deal.
  11. astrid
    Probably not open tomorrow, but Happy Hour for everyone at Sushi Taro tonight
  12. astrid
    That's okay, my husband would not be thrilled with an introduction either. I recently learned an interest factoid from a friend. Apparently anyone air traveling with honey will be guaranteed to get their luggage opened and checked. Honey has the same density as certain explosives, apparently, and there's no way to check the difference without a direct physical examination. And since very few people carry honey in smaller than 100 ml containers, that means getting their checked luggage opened outside of their presence. I learned this shortly after I had brought two jars of honey (chestnut and heather) from France, through 2 separate flights. Considering that we did not miss anything from our luggage, including some very delicious chocolates and caramels, I think this speaks well to the honesty of TSA agents.
  13. astrid
    Bart, thanks for sharing your experience! We had been pondering about the GE program ever since my terrible experience returning from China (where a combination of several delayed flights and confusion about the new system lead to a multi-hour wait to clear through border control) and almost as bad experience in Canada (we didn't realize that you now have to go through US border control IN CANADA)! Both times, I got lucky that my flights happened to have long waits at the right airport, but I would have certainly missed a flight if I had booked a 90 minute connection. Now I'm definitely going to get it done.
  14. astrid
    Just want to mention that Jerry Zawacki is the new chef here. Food and drink here are still fantastic and modestly priced.
  15. astrid
    Tried the new dandan ramens yesterday and they're just fantastic. It's built with ramen components but hit dandan flavor notes. This is my favorite bowl of ramen ever right now (the shoyu ramen I had last week would be right next to it on my ramen pantheon). If Momofuku's ramens were actually this good, I would regularly wait in line and pay $17 for a bowl. They're going to be offered two more times and then switch to something else.
  16. astrid
    I see, yes, that is pretty horrible for your friend. Luckily, that is one aspect of flying that's actually gotten better over time. My own opinion of flying does grow lower and lower every year. Right now, it's at least a 800 mile drive to even consider flying. Shorter than that and it's not worth the hassle. The TSA section seems to be getting a little better, but the new immigration/customs process is just awful. United's current seats do seem to be uniquely (for now) terrible in my experience. They're just terribly engineered - unless you firmly your foot on the ground and use your legs to push against the back of the seat at all time, you will start to slip down the seat immediately. It's really hard on the back almost immediately. I was suffering back pain and strain that I've never suffered on any prior flight and couldn't get any sleep at all (of course, I had to learn this on a 14 hour flight to China). So after spending my life being that person who is okay with the cheapest steerage seat (even with occasional seat kicker and smoshing risks), I did find the limits of my tolerance.
  17. astrid
    You can ask airlines to make special accommodations (though I'm pretty sure being tall is insufficient threshold). But you sure as heck can't ask private citizens to accommodate the friend.
  18. astrid
    If your friend is 6'5", shouldn't he have attempted mitigation by purchasing an economy plus ticket, rather than expect the person in front not to recline for a red eye?
  19. astrid
    Is economy plus even more expensive in constant dollars than coach of 30-40 years ago? If you're willing to go back to the old ways, it seems like there are some considerably more pleasant options if you're willing to spend old time money. Based on the full seating in business class and economy plus every time I fly, it seems like there is a market for paying for some luxury and leg room, but there is also a larger segment of consumers who are okay with flying as cheaply as possible even if it's a somewhat miserable experience. If you're not personally okay with the experience, then pay more. But why demand market changes that would deny the steerage willing customers the option to go with the cheapest possible price? Orbitz and just about every airline site offers me economy plus and business class upgrade options every time I shop for tickets, but right now it's hard for me to justify greatly increasing the cost of a trip just for comfort. I have made one recent concession to comfort "“ I used to fly mostly United but will no longer fly United long haul, their new seat design is awful. As for reclining seats "“ putting anything that would be at risk in case of a recline at your own risk. I'd prefer for short haul flights just to do away with reclining altogether, but don't hate the player and don't expect courtesy from strangers (who won't even bother to buy two seats when they obviously need to or restrain their horrible seat kicking children). If you're going to complain about someone else's reclining to the flight attendant, do not expect a sympathetic hearing.
  20. astrid
    We go to the Quincy location next to the Mike Isabella mini-empire. Just went tonight for takeouts and the staff were nice as can be. They were running low on fries so I asked to get my order filled from the fresh batch when it comes out, not a problem at all. I think this location is also somewhat less fragrant than the Wilson location Don mentioned, it has a light smell of rotisserie chicken but that's about it.
  21. astrid
    Had dinner at Yona. Will not go back, ever, for the really salty and badly cooked noodles. The small plates were quite good though, with the uni waffles and the fluke crudo being particular delights. The prices are high and portions rather small, but offset somewhat by the high quality of the ingredients and prep for the small plates. We might come back here for 2-3 small plates, then go top off elsewhere.
  22. astrid
    We tried the Momofuku pork ramen and hozon ramen on Sunday. The pork ramen was okay but had some definite shortcomings "“ a broth that's overpowered by the salty smoke of Benton's Ham (I love Benton's bacon but never liked their ham in any manifestation), the noodles were a little overdone, the noodle to broth ratio was off, and the broth was not hot enough. Didn't like the hoson ramen - the noodles were too thick and the noodle to broth ratio seems even more off, plus I was not a fan of the panisse topping. I liked their baos (tried shrimp, pork, and beef) much better, though considering that they work up to almost $10 per bao after tax and tip, I doubt I'd go back unless a friend specifically request a dinner there. A trip to Crane & Turtle's Tuesday ramen combined with more afterwards eating at Petworth Citizen is a more appealing and cheaper plan. The Ssam sauce was excellent, especially on the pork rinds. So good to know he sells a bottled version on his website.
  23. astrid
    Tried the Crane & Turtle pork shoyu ramen yesterday. It's definitely in our top 3 for DC, with Toki and Daikaya being the other 2. The noodles are perfectly cooked and spring-y. The broth is porky but clean tasting. The toppings are half an egg, 3 perfect thin slices of pork, and a generous toss of scallions. They're going to do dandan noodles next week. We plan to go back.
  24. astrid
    Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the 4SG lemongrass beef though I agree that it's the weakest mains option. We usually stick to lemongrass pork over noodles, which is an altogether better dish (unless you're squeamish about slightly fatty pork). I like getting their pho as takeout "“ they have a clever packing system to ensure that you get a nice hot bowl with proper noodle when you get home and I like the broth, though I'm not a pho connoisseur. The spring rolls also travel decently for at least 30 minutes. If you're considering trekking to Courthouse, the current iteration of Ray's Hell Burger is still excellent and fits your other requirements well.
  25. astrid
    Non-poultry liver and internal organs (other than heart and sweetbreads) are a definite no-go zone for me. I've tried various preps over the years and all of them are spit-out gross. Medium rare liver might be the worst, blerghhhhh! "Sweet" peppers also nasty, tasting like bilious vomit in vegetable form. I can tolerate a moderate amount of fresh hot peppers and enthusiastically consumes prepared hot pepper condiments. Somehow the heat covers up the gag inducing flavors. I can also happily eat foods spiced with a small amount of aji dulce, which is basically a minimally spicy habanero.
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